10+ Green Home Improvments For Future Value

Most of these ideas are common to the home improvement industry, but have a different twist to maximize these projects with a green approach. They mainly fall into the category of landscaping and relaxation space.

Some ideas for potentially adding value to your home by making green additions are:

1. Plant native and/or unique fruit trees, or orchard

   1. Native fruit trees provide value in the landscaping by adding plants onto the property that produce food for both wildlife and human consumption. They also require less maintanance being native to your respective area. Plating unique trees add value by creating desirability in your yard, but add an additional responsiblity to having a unique variety. 

2. Xeroscaping, utilitarian planting, and organic gardens

   1. Landscaping is a big deal. Planning a comfortable yard that doesn't require a lot of maintenance, yet provides maximum benefits to your family, does take some planning. With some extra planning, try to incorporate plants that produce something (i.e. utilitarian planting). Understand each plants purpose in the micro-climate you are creating, and try to avoid plants that are invasive. Please DO NOT install astroturf, or consider it as a LAST RESORT when planning your yard makeover.

      1. When planning your yard:

         1. Cosider how to create more privacy

         2. Consider how plants will grow and how you will manage them

            1. Consider plant roles, such as shade, food, aesthetic, native, etc.

            2. Do the plants have thorns, grow really fast, or require extra care?

               1. These plants will be unwieldy during maintenance or cost more to maintain over time. Will they be worth it?

            3. Does it need shade, or will it be providing shade?

               1. Plant shade trees on the side of your house that will capture the most sunlight, i.e. the south facing areas are probably best. Unless you want sun entering the house for warmth during the winter months, etc. 

         3. Consider what plants you will use and enjoy the most

         4. Putting large mass in areas that can regulate temperate i.e. rocks under trees, etc. 

3. Solar power

   1. This one is fairly well known. As solar power panels become cheaper and depending on where you live, the benefits of solar may vary and the decision to go with it may be better for some than others. A couple things to consider aside ROI, is changing weather patterns in your region. If you base your returns off of sunny months and then have several years where you have months of cloudy weather; that will offset your orginal calculation. Another thing to consider, is trees that are close enough to eventually grow to obstruct your future solar production. When building a house, try to get the option included in your house to potentially increase your home desirability for future homebuyers.

4. 220V option in garage

   1. As electric vehicles become more mainstream, this is something that future homebuyers will be looking for. Try to add it when building your house, or upgrading your box in the future may be more of a hassle than you wanted. 

5. Living wall

   1. A living wall is a cheap way to increase privacy and/or liven up a yard space. Adding concrete wall can be expensive, but if you could just grow your wall to provide privacy and flowers, why not? This wall is not only cheaper, but takes carbon out of the atmosphere while adding privacy. Privacy in backyards is one thing said to increase home value and desirability. In small spaces, living walls can be created to better use the wall space or soften up an urban setting.

6. Rainwater cache

   1. Catching rainwater in the southwest United States is becoming a bigger deal and water concerns grow. This is another addition that could potentially increase home value, get you some tax deductions, and increase home desirability. 

      1. As a tip for people that live in the desert, I would recommend watering perennials to establish those first. I repurpose my water on my fruit trees and my perennial herb garden.

7. Double-paned windows

   1. These are a fairly common suggestion to reduce electricity bills. However, if you have an older historic home it may be more valuable to keep the windows in their historic condition and buy something like thick blackout curtains to help insulate a bit while maintaining the home charm.

8. Skylights

   1. Skylights are an elegant touch to any home. They reduce electricty usage over their lifetime by providing natural daylight into the deep interior of the home. They also can help grow low-light plants in those areas, which helps create other green spaces in the house. This is another green addition to think about when you are building a house. 

9. Wood burning stoves

   1. These have become popular. Depending on the fuel you use to burn, they can be more efficient than electrical heating units. Althought this isn't a solution for everyone, this may be something to think about if you have a rustic property.

10. Adding worms to your yard

    1. This is a very small thing that doesn't really add value to your yard immediately. It will take some time, but they will eventually take and the plants in your yard will become more beautiful and your home desirability will increase further and be more sustainable. Families with kids can dig for worms and its just a win-win for the future and future homeowners. Not only does it help with the plants in your yard, but worms can also help with drainage problems around your house; allowing the soil to absorb rain better creating better water storage capacity in the soil itself. Having worms is kind of like having little landscapers of the night. Adding worms is a passive investment in your home's outdoor space.

11. Accent walls, designs, and balanced color

    1. Painting your house is always almost always somethign that comes to mind. When painting your house, choose eco-friendly paints such that you are adding some uniqueness to your house while keeping the toxins down in the house. Eco-friendly paints emit less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and are usually created with for environmental responsibility. Another thing that can be done to plus up your home when painting is to consider unique design opportunities as well as opportunites for accent walls to make the room really pop. If considering painting your house, its not much more work to add an accent wall or a simple design, if done well, it will definitely add desirability to your home.